[3] It officially opened as a Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) base on 27 March 1914, although it had been in use earlier.

At its peak, it served the most air traffic for the entire country, with 80 airlines operating 160,000 flights and handling over 38 million passengers and 700,000 tons of cargo in 2004.

The first flights to Don Mueang were made on 8 March 1914 and involved the transfer of aircraft of the Royal Thai Air Force.

On completion of their training in 1911, the pilots were authorized to purchase seven aircraft, three Breguets and four Nieuports, which formed the basis of the Royal Thai Air Force.

The airfield was used by the occupying Japanese during World War II, and was bombed and strafed by Allied aircraft on several occasions.

[citation needed] After the war had finished in September 1945, the airfield was occupied by the RAF during the brief British occupation of Thailand until March 1946 when 211 Squadron, which moved there in October 1945, was disbanded.

[8] In May 2005, Thai Airways International introduced nonstop service between Bangkok and New York City using Airbus A340-500s.

The report proposed reopening DMK as a way to avoid or delay second-stage expansion which had been planned for Suvarnabhumi.

[13] On 30 January 2007, the Ministry of Transport recommended temporarily reopening Don Mueang while touch up work proceeded on some taxiways at Suvarnabhumi.

On 16 March 2012, the Government of Thailand under Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ordered all low-cost, chartered, and non-connecting flights to relocate to Don Mueang.

[21] On 7 September 2013, Airports of Thailand announced its three billion baht renovation to reopen Terminal 2 as early as May 2014.

Completion of Terminal 2 in December 2015 increases Don Mueang's passenger capacity to 30 million a year.

[22] The third phase of Don Mueang's 36.8 billion baht expansion is scheduled to start in the second half of 2023 and will be completed in 2029.

[citation needed] On 7 September 2022 at 21:40 local time, an Airbus A380 made an emergency landing on runway 21R at Don Mueang.

[107] Don Mueang International Airport is served by the SRT Dark Red Line and the State Railway of Thailand intercity services at Don Mueang railway station that connects to central Bangkok at Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal.

AOT plans to build a three-kilometre monorail to link the airport with the BTS Green Line.